JAVS Spring 2026

Journal of the American Viola Society A publication of the American Viola Society Spring 2026: Volume 42, No.1 p. 3 From the Editor p. 4 From the President p. 5 From the 2026 AVS Festival Host Feature Articles p. 7 2025 David Dalton Research Competition 1st Prize Winner Stravinsky’s ‘Élégie’ for Solo Viola, Debussy’s ‘Élégie’ for Piano: Two Compositions in Dialogue by Kylie Baird p. 21 2025 David Dalton Research Competition 2nd Prize Winner Rhythm as the Musical Soul in Adès’ Three Berceuses from ‘The Exterminating Angel’ for Viola and Piano by Brightin Rose Schlumpf p. 27 2025 David Dalton Research Competition 3rd Prize Winner Boccherini Before the Quartets: A Possible Early Violin–Viola Duet by Vanese McPherson p. 35 The Viola Behind the Iron Curtain, Pt. III: Mr. Stepanov and Ms. Stepanova—the Generically Utopic World of Small-Scale Socialist Realist Repertoire by Nethanel E. Pollak Departments p. 52 Development Corner: Money, Music, and the IRS: A Practical Tax Guide for Violists p. 55 With Viola In Hand: Pedagogical Reflections from the Practice Room, by Andrea Priester Houde p. 57 In the Studio: Supporting Emotional Development in the Viola Studio, by Jacob Burk p. 61 Book Review: All Strings Attached written by Lanson Wells, by Christina Ebersohl-Van Scyoc

On the Cover: Wassily Kandinsky

Impression III (Concert), 1911, Lenbachhaus Gallery, Munich After hearing the revolutionary sounds of Arnold Schoenberg in 1911, Russian-born French artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) found the clarity he needed to complete his abstract vision. He believed music to be the purest abstract art and hoped his paintings might be heard as well as seen. “Color is the key. The eye is the hammer. The soul is the piano with its many strings,” he wrote. His works unfold like musical forms—Compositions as symphonies, Improvisations as spontaneous utterances, Impressions shaped directly by sound. Kandinsky asked only that we listen: “Lend your ears to music, open your eyes to painting, and…stop thinking. Just ask yourself whether the work has enabled you to ‘walk about’ into a hitherto unknown world.” If the answer is yes, what more do we need?

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 42, No. 1, Spring 2026

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